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Banner Creek

Past Producer in Alaska, United States with commodities Gold, Silver, Copper, Lead, REE, Antimony, Tin, Tungsten
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Geologic information

Identification information

Deposit ID 10001697
MRDS ID A012478
Record type Site
Current site name Banner Creek
Related records 10135915

Geographic coordinates

Geographic coordinates: -146.34895, 64.31579 (WGS84)
Relative position Banner Creek drains southward into the Tanana River. The approximate center of mining activity on Banner Creek is in SW1/4SW1/4 section 10, T. 7 S., R. 7 E., of the Fairbanks Meridian, approximately 2 miles north of the town of Richardson on the Richardson Highway. The creek is approximately 6 miles long and has several tributaries with associated placers. These include Buckeye Creek (BD005), Democrat Pup Creek (BD013), and Susie Creek (not identified on existing maps). Placer workings are found from just above the confluence of Democrat Pup Creek to the Tanana River (Olson and others, 1985). Numerous unimproved roads provide access to the Banner Creek drainage. It is locality 13 of Cobb and Eberlein (1980), who summarized relevant references under the name 'Banner Creek'.
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Geographic areas

Country State
United States Alaska

Commodities

Commodity Importance
Gold Primary
Silver Secondary
Copper Secondary
Lead Secondary
REE Secondary
Antimony Secondary
Tin Secondary
Tungsten Secondary

Materials information

Materials Type of material
Arsenopyrite Ore
Cassiterite Ore
Chalcopyrite Ore
Galena Ore
Gold Ore
Monazite Ore
Pyrite Ore
Scheelite Ore
Stibnite Ore

Mineral occurrence model information

Model code 119
USGS model code 39a
BC deposit profile C01. C02
Deposit model name Placer Au-PGE
Mark3 model number 54

Host and associated rocks

  • Host or associated Host
    Rock type Unconsolidated Deposit > Gravel

Nearby scientific data

(1) -146.34895, 64.31579
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Comments on the geologic information

  • Geologic Description = The Richardson area is characterized by gentle slopes and broad alluvium filled valleys (Prindle and Katz, 1913, p. 140). The area is unglaciated and largely overlain by windblown silt, sand, and loess, locally up to 50 meters thick (Foster and others, 1979). The bedrock in the region comprises greenschist to amphibolite facies schist, marble, and gneiss that have been intruded by various igneous bodies (Bundtzen and Reger, 1977, p. 29). The schist and marble are probably Paleozoic, and the gneiss has a probable protolith of Precambrian and Paleozoic sedimentary and igneous rocks (Weber and others, 1978). The intrusive bodies in the area range in composition from rhyolite to andesite. Fine-grained rhyolite containing quartz and feldspar phenocrysts is common throughout the area (Olson and others, 1985). At the nearby Democrat Lode (BD014), the rhyolite contains arsenopyrite, gold, and pyrite, and is albitic, clay, and sericite altered (R.J. Newberry, oral communication, 1998). Structurally, the Richardson region is cut by a northwest-trending fracture system termed the Richardson Lineament. The lineament appears to correspond with the distribution of the rhyolite and other intrusive bodies and placer gold deposits (Bundtzen and Reger, 1977, p. 29). Also, the lineament tends to separate gneissic rocks to the northeast from schistose rocks to the southwest (Swainbank and others, 1984). ? the placer gold fineness mined from Banner Creek ranged from 639.5 to 785 (Menzie and Foster, 1979). Metz and Hawkins (1981) reported the average gold fineness to be 737. Glover (1920?) reported a range in gold fineness of 738 to 798 for Banner Creek. Placer and churn-drill hole concentrates contain actinolite, arsenopyrite, biotite, cassiterite, chalcopyrite, dolomite, epidote, feldspar, fluorapatite, galena, garnet, gold, hornblende, ilmenite, magnetite, monazite, muscovite, quartz, pyrite, pyroxene, rutile, scheelite, sphene, stibnite, tourmaline, and zircon (Bundtzen and Reger, 1977). Mining along Banner Creek has included open-cut and drifting methods (Ellsworth and Parker, 1911). In the Banner Creek drainage, schist and gneiss in contact with the rhyolite dikes is hydrothermally altered (Swainbank and others, 1984). ? Placer gold was first discovered in the Richardson district in 1905. Mining initially occurred on the nearby Tenderfoot Creek (BD039) and expanded to Banner Creek and associated tributaries soon after. Following peak gold production in 1908, mining in the area declined (Olson and others, 1985). From 1905 through 1921, gold production for the Richardson district was approximately 95,000 ounces of gold and 24,000 ounces of silver (Bundtzen and Reger, 1977). Since 1980, mining in the district has produced an additional 10,000 ounces of gold (Olson and others, 1985). Gold production for individual mines and sections of Banner Creek and its tributaries has not been reported separately.
  • Age = Quaternary

Economic information

Economic information about the deposit and operations

Development status Past Producer
Commodity type Metallic

Comments on exploration

  • Status = Inactive

Mining district

District name Fairbanks

Comments on the production information

  • Production Notes = From 1905 through 1921, gold production for the Richardson area was approximately 95,000 ounces of gold and 24,000 ounces of silver (Bundtzen and Reger, 1977). Since 1980, mining in the district has produced an additional 10,000 ounces of gold (Olson and others, 1985). Gold production for individual mines and sections of Banner Creek and its tributaries has not been reported separately.

Comments on the workings information

  • Workings / Exploration = Placer gold was first discovered in the Richardson area in 1905. Mining initially occurred on the nearby Tenderfoot Creek (BD039) and expanded to Banner Creek and associated tributaries soon after. Following peak gold production in 1908, mining in the area declined (Olson and others, 1985). Mining along Banner Creek has included open-cut and drifting methods (Ellsworth and Parker, 1911). Bundtzen and Reger (1977) reported 4 churn-drill holes along the creek. Currently (1998), exploration work is being conducted along the Banner Creek drainage (F.L. Blystone, written communication, 1998).

Reference information

Links to other databases

Agency Database name Acronym Record ID Notes
USGS Mineral Resources Data System MRDS A012478
USGS Alaska Resource Data File ARDF BD001

Bibliographic references

  • Deposit

    Ellsworth, C.E., and Parker, G.L., 1911, Placer mining in the Yukon-Tanana region: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 480, 325 p.

  • Deposit

    Prindle, L.M., and Katz, F.J., 1913, Detailed description of the Fairbanks district, in Prindle, L. M., A geologic reconnaissance of the Fairbanks quadrangle, Alaska: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 525, p. 59-152.

  • Deposit

    Saunders, R.H., 1965, A geochemical investigation in the Richardson area, Big Delta quadrangle, Alaska: Alaska Division of Mines and Minerals Geochemical Report 3, 11 p.

  • Deposit

    Bundtzen, T.K., and Reger, R.D., 1977, The Richardson lineament-a structural control for gold deposits in the Richardson mining district, Alaska: Alaska Division of Geological and Geophysical Surveys Geologic Report 55, 46 p.

  • Deposit

    Eberlein, G.D., Chapman, R.M., Foster, H.L., and Gassaway, J.S., 1977, Map and table describing known metalliferous and selected nonmetalliferous mineral deposits in central Alaska: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 77-168-D, 132 p., 1 map, scale 1:1,000,000.

  • Deposit

    Weber, F.R., Foster, H.L., Keith, T.E.C., Dusel-Bacon, C., 1978, Preliminary geologic map of the Big Delta quadrangle, Alaska: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 78-529A, 1 sheet, scale 1:250,000.

  • Deposit

    Menzie, W.D., and Foster, H.L., 1979, Metalliferous and selected nonmetalliferous mineral resource potential in the Big Delta quadrangle, Alaska: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 78-529D, 61 p., 1 sheet, scale 1:250,000.

  • Deposit

    Cobb, E.H., and Eberlein, G.D., 1980, Summaries of data on and lists of references to metallic and selected nonmetallic mineral deposits in the Big Delta and Tanacross quadrangles, Alaska: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 80-1086, 77 p.

  • Deposit

    Metz, P.A., and Hawkins, D.B., 1981, A summary of gold fineness values from Alaska placer deposits: University of Alaska, Fairbanks, Mineral Industry Research Laboratory Report No. 45, 63 p.

  • Deposit

    Swainbank, R.C., Burton, J.P., and Metz, P.A., 1984, Bedrock geology of the Richardson mining district, Alaska: University of Alaska, Mineral Industry Research Laboratory Open-File Report 84-2, 60 p., 8 maps, scale 1:40,000.

  • Deposit

    Olson, B.G., Burton, J., Wolff, E.N., and Swainbank, R.D., 1985, Mining and minerals in the golden heart of Alaska: Fairbanks North Star Borough Publication, 80 p.

  • Deposit

    Glover, A.E., 1950, Placer gold fineness: Alaska Territorial Department of Mines Miscellaneous Report 195-1, 38 p.

  • Deposit

    Chapin, Theodore, 1914, Placer mining in the Yukon-Tanana region: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 592-J, p. 357-362.

Comments on the references

  • Primary Reference = Cobb and Eberlein, 1980

General comments

Subject category Comment text
Deposit Model Name = Placer Au (Cox and Singer, 1986; model 39a)

Reporter information

Type Date Name Affiliation Comment
Reporter 26-APR-1999 Cameron S. Rombach Alaska Division of Geological and Geophysical Surveys